Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    How to Get the Most Out of Your SD-WAN Deployment

    By
    Chris Preimesberger
    -
    April 13, 2017
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      PrevNext

      1How to Get the Most Out of Your SD-WAN Deployment

      How to Get the Most Out of Your SD-WAN Deployment

      Everything in IT seems to trend toward “software-defined,” and this includes local networks. From all indications, software-defined wide-area networks, or SD-WANs, are gaining traction among enterprises. According to a recent study, 58.5 percent of enterprises across the globe plan to adopt SD-WAN within the next two years, and researcher IDC estimates that worldwide SD-WAN vendor revenues will exceed $6 billion in 2020. Many organizations understand the benefits of SD-WAN—including optimized bandwidth at a low cost—and are ready to deploy it in their environments. While the benefits are clear, integrations can be challenging. In this eWEEK slide show, using industry information from Wayne Cheung, Director of NFV Product Marketing at Juniper Networks, we present several best-practice-type tips on getting the most out of SD-WAN technology.

      2Metrics, Metrics, Metrics

      Metrics, Metrics, Metrics

      One of the best ways to ensure SD-WAN is running properly is measuring its impact on the environment. This relatively simple task is something organizations may neglect but then find themselves unable to determine if the technology investment is positively impacting the business. Teams should be sure to track application performance against cost-based routing throughout the deployment.

      3Why Tracking Metrics Are Important

      Why Tracking Metrics Are Important

      In the long run, tracking metrics will not only help the IT team understand if the SD-WAN deployment is achieving designed goals, but also justify future improvements to the infrastructure that can benefit from software-defined technologies if IT teams can quantify positive impact.

      4Controlled Rollout

      Controlled Rollout

      As with any new technology, it’s critical to test SD-WAN technology in a contained environment before rolling it out to the entire organization. This ensures that any challenges the IT team runs into related to certain applications, optimizing the policies or integrations with existing environments when initially running the technology don’t affect the larger organization. This is particularly important for newer technologies like SD-WAN, where use cases have been few and far between as the technology is just starting to take off.

      5Don’t Fly Blind

      Don't Fly Blind

      Since SD-WAN automates the ongoing management of connectivity, IT teams are removed from one of the more expensive and critical aspects of running an enterprise network on a day-to-day basis. They understand the policies they’ve put in place but also need assurance regarding the operation of the SD-WAN tasks.

      6How to Address Running the Operation

      How to Address Running the Operation

      IT teams need enhanced monitoring and visualization tools with alerts to ensure the environment is making the right determinations on how to route each type of application traffic accordingly while maintaining service-level agreements (SLAs). IT teams should consider monitoring tools when selecting their SD-WAN technologies and use the testing environment to get a handle on automatic load balancing and congestion management to better understand assurance issues.

      7Keep It Secure

      Keep It Secure

      With breaches permeating news headlines, security is top of mind for every organization, and it’s a critical consideration for SD-WAN deployments. It’s important to ensure the traffic moving through the different connection paths is encrypted and for IT to consider how encrypting traffic can impact speeds when testing the technology and designing performance metrics.

      8Internet Will Play a Role in Local Network

      Internet Will Play a Role in Local Network

      Let’s also not forget this path may traverse the internet, the source for much of the miscreant traffic. All IT professionals should consider a comprehensive security approach, including integrated firewalls with antivirus or intrusion protection that functions along with the SD-WAN technology.

      9Keep It Simple and United

      Keep It Simple and United

      It’s possible to layer virtual network infrastructure services, such as MPLS VPN, security, QoS/CoS and WAN optimization, alongside the SD-WAN on the same virtual CPE platform. One way is to add virtual network functions (VNFs) to the SD-WAN using network functions virtualization (NFV) technology. SD-WAN can be just another VNF that can run adjacently to one another or independently, giving enterprises more flexibility as they evolve virtualized-based services. Don’t overcomplicate the approach with racking and stacking multiple appliances that require multiple management systems. Look for an integrated platform that can deploy and manage the life cycle of SD-WAN and other virtual network services.

      PrevNext

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×